Overview

This intriguing detective story introduces DI Ambrose in the first of a series of tales of murder most foul. Foul Play happens in a fog bound theatre with a cast of eccentric actors to keep the reader engaged until the very last page. We also meet popular team members DS Waters and WPC Meadows for the first time This novel is the first cooperation by mother daughter duo Pauline Kirk and Jo Summers writing as PJ Quinn. Set in a partially bombed out theatre in the sleepy town of Chalk Heath where the leading lady is attacked on stage during a rehearsal. This is postwar austerity Britain, James Dean, Danny Kaye and Brian Rix are all the rage, yet in Chalk Heath, culture is represented by the Players. Ambrose and his team set about finding the killer. This was a time when forensic science was in its infancy and crime scene processing was primarily good observation with a bit of fingerprint analysis and blood typing thrown in to taste. For the crime novelist this period allows for good character development and greater freedom to explore the relationships between all the principals. Foul Play is an exemplary tale of high drama in a dramatic setting while Ambrose, who remembers the theatre in is prewar glory, and coping with his own wayward son, attempts to reconcile his younger self, his son; the damaged theatre and acting troupe with the essential business of solving the crime.

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9781939269980

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Reviews

Michelle - A great murder mystery I was lucky enough to have been given this book as a gift. Otherwise, really being averse to crime, detective and murder mystery style I would not have chosen it. However it didn't take long to be captivated by the descriptive nature of the book and that is one of the key reasons why I couldn't put it down. The characters are well chosen and there is much humour throughout bringing light heartedness to what could otherwise be another typical crime novel. A great twist at the end too. Mary SN - Read This Anyone who was brought up on the Whodunits of Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy Sayers will welcome this beautifully written return to a much missed genre. Cleverly set in the fifties - that unsettling era of post-war change - and capturing perfectly the feeling of the times, PJ Quinn (alias mother and daughter duo Pauline Kirk and Jo Summers) has produced a highly enjoyable crime mystery with a splendid cast of characters. Two more novels from the same pen are already promised. Look out for them! Margaret - A good read I don't normally choose to read detective novels but was very pleased to be given PJ Quinn's Foul Play to read as I really enjoyed it! Informed by a sound knowledge of English Law and Police work I found Foul Play a most gripping and entertaining detective novel which kept me guessing and speculating to the end. I look forward to reading more of DI Ambrose's and his team's sleuthing John - First of a series, I hope The clues are set cunnningly throughout but I hadn't solved it by the end. The bright WPC is set to be a star in future episodes, I hope. DC Winter's domestic bliss was brilliantly done. Worth following this writing duo. Philippa Hammond - A great detective story I found this to be a great detective story that kept me guessing until the very end. I managed to solve some parts but the end was still a mystery. An unputdownable book and one which I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a well written and well thought out detective novel. Next one please! KD - Kept me guessing An excellent book. It gripped me from the start and kept me guessing (incorrectly!) all the way through. I look forward to the writers' next novel. Sandy - Excellent Reading This is a book that once you pick it up, you won't put it down until you have reached the last page.

Author Information

PJ Quinn is the pen name for mother and daughter team, Pauline Kirk and Jo Summers. Pauline is a novelist and poet. Jo is a lawyer who writes text-books for the legal press. Jo challenged her mother to write a crime novel and, somehow, ended up writing it with her. The result is a series of detective novels featuring DI Ambrose and Chalk Heath, set in the 1950s, a period of great change that seems like an era ago.

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